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Simhat Torah "

“Just five more minutes,” “One more chapter,” “I guess I can stay a little longer.” The temptation to stretch out an enjoyable activity just a little bit more is one to which we can all relate.

After a month of reveling in God’s closeness, culminating with the Festival of Sukkot (Tabernacles), the Jewish people felt the same way. In response, God granted them an extra holy day, Simhat Torah, that begins as Sukkot ebbs away (starting this year Wednesday night, Oct. 11). Literally translated as “The Joy of the Torah,” it is on this day that we conclude and begin anew the annual cycle of reading the Five Books of Moses.

That makes this week a particularly apt time to highlight the idea that the first time in Genesis that a specific letter is used to start a word, that word provides a key to the inner meaning of that initial letter.

When I was nine, I saved up every penny to fulfill my yearning for an electric train. Finally, I ran to the hobby store. Arriving home, I set up the circular track. My little engine, pulling two coaches and a caboose, circled endlessly, repeatedly passing the same wooden station and plastic trees I set up beside my track.

I dreamed of laying out one long straight run so that my train could explore new landscapes. But one long track would quickly take the train out of my sight. Neither straight line nor circle was ideal.

What a metaphor for life! Making each year merely a dreary replica of last year is as dissatisfying as constantly seeking the new and novel.

Sunday night, Oct. 23, starts the final holy day of this Jewish month that is chock-full of festivals. It seems a special gift from God this year, to take extra breaks from listening to the news and views out there. If you’re not Jewish or perhaps you are Jewish but don’t observe these holy days, why not challenge yourself to shut your computer, turn off your radio and talk only to yourself and to those you meet in person for one day a week? You will most likely find that your level of discourse and thought rises immeasurably.